Dear reader,
The world is again hopping on the fossil fuel train – this is the impression you could get from today’s issue. Bulgaria wants to reverse its coal phase-out plans because exporting electricity proves to be quite lucrative. In Colombia, its Minister of Finance warns against a rushed energy transition – government revenues from oil and coal exports are at risk. And in Alaska, Joe Biden approved a major oil and gas project. The state government is happy about the revenues and jobs.
However, there are also glimmers of hope for the climate. If energy prices fall again, fossil projects could lose their profitability, as our analyses of Bulgaria and Colombia show. And there are many indications that demand for fossil fuels will continue to decline over the coming years: Fewer coal-fired power plants are being planned; and the EU intends to continue to push for an end to fossil fuels at COP28.
Today’s issue once again highlights the need for a just energy transition. If national revenues from the export of fossil energy sources break away, both the already deprived and ordinary workers – for example in the coal mining industry – are the first ones to suffer the consequences. The topics of climate funding and the just transition will at the latest come up again at the World Bank Spring Meeting in April.
